Conventionally, smallsats such as microsats (10-100 kg mass), nanosats (1-10 kg mass) and picosats (0.1-1 kg mass) are launched only in small quantities on shared launches with larger spacecraft or on relatively small launch vehicles. Satellite operators, however, are now contemplating large constellations of nanosats or picosats, for example, the constellations including as many as thousands or even tens of thousands of spacecraft. The presently disclosed techniques enable tens to thousands of smallsats to be simultaneously carried into space on a single launch vehicle, and subsequently deployed into orbit.